Of course, and this is to be expected considering the intelligence and human nature of the general public. But the behavior/beliefs on this specific topic (at least) of people on relatively much smarter forums like HN is identical to that of the general public.

Here we have a situation where people of above-average intelligence, especially technically, passionately believe something of a technical nature, and will not question it. That's the part I find absolutely fascinating within the context of the whole "fake news" discussion.